


Our Plea

by Autumn - Gaia (GaiaMaiden)



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25499737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaiaMaiden/pseuds/Autumn%20-%20Gaia
Summary: Two friends reunite on a world at the edge of oblivion, though one has suffered far greater scars than the other...My second 'short story', covering a redesign of one of my FF14 characters, and the events that led to her dramatic change (as well as the start of setting up a story around all of them in general). :D
Kudos: 4





	Our Plea

_~Excerpt from Autumn Darbonne’s Personal Notes: Vol.4, on the Topic of “Sin Eaters”~_

_(Written just after the events of Patch 5.0)_

…The Corruption of a person’s aether via a Sin Eater’s “Light” was originally considered to be a death sentence of sorts, as there was no known cure for a person once they had been “infected”; The only real question involved was a matter of time. For some, this would involve a slow process spanning weeks (if not months), where the color of their body would slowly pale and mental/emotional responses would gradually diminish. For others, the process would be instantaneous, and they would be “reborn” as a Sin Eater themselves shortly after injury. In either case, the person was doomed to a future as an emotionless creature feasting on aether, which is likely what prompted the establishment of locations such as the Inn at Journey’s Head at the southern edge of the habitable area of Amh Araeng.

An inquiry into the records found in the Crystarium’s library (aka Cabinet of Curiosity) and what few records still existed in Eulmore would more or less confirm the aforementioned prognosis. At the time of writing, during the entire 100+ year period of Norvrandt between the first recorded appearances of Sin Eaters and the destruction of the Lightwardens, there have only been 2 cases where a person infected with a Sin Eater’s light was cured or otherwise escaped their fate. However, beyond the fact that both cases occurred at the end of this period, both involved otherwise extraordinary circumstances, and would prove to be extremely difficult (if not outright impossible) to replicate.

One such case involves myself, in relation to the Exarch’s plan to have myself absorb the combined aether of the 5 Lightwardens of the land. However, to start, the key point to that plan’s viability revolved around my possession of the Blessing of Light, as it was believed to grant me a measure of protection against the corrupting Light/Umbral aether. Given that no other “Warriors of Light” had been identified on the First since the inception of the Flood of Light, there exists no other known person on the First for which to test the level of protection given by the Blessing against a more garden-variety Sin Eater’s aether.

As for the method of my “curing”, it involved (what I believe to be) a combination of the bolstering of a person’s soul (in my case, that being the rejoining of a person’s soul with one of their “shards”), as well as an expenditure of the excess Light/Umbral-aspected aether against a being possessing an equivalent amount of Dark/Astral-aspected aether:  
  
-The first of these circumstances would alone make this method impossible for denizens of the First, at least via the method involved in my case: Based on information obtained from the Ascian Emet-Selch, the rejoining of souls would appear to work in the direction of a ‘Shard-born’ merging into a ‘Source-born’, not vice-versa (to say nothing of the difficulties involved in locating the individual with a matching soul on the Source and subsequently transporting them to the First). The only other known means of bolstering a person’s soul would involve the Resonant technology employed by the Garlean Empire, which (aside from not existing in the First) is not an ethically viable option. 

-As for the other circumstance (the existence of a Dark/Astral-aspected being), records indicate that such creatures are scarce, if not non-existent, on the First. The closest example known involved those afflicted with the “Magical Curse” that plagued the Kingdom of Voeburt in the years just prior to the Flood of Light, and it is not known if those afflicted could even be considered comparable to the Voidsent experienced in the Source or any other known Dark/Astral-aspected creature.  
  
In short, the method(s) involved in my situation is/are not a viable means of curing afflicted persons.

The only other known case of a survivor occurred several months prior to my arrival on Norvrandt, involving...

  
~~ 

  
“In any case, I’m glad to see the two of you found each other. You have _no_ idea how badly Alisaie has missed your company! Everything is always, ‘If Autumn were here, she would-’”

“That’s an exaggeration! And I don’t sound like that, either! I was simply trying to view matters from another perspective, and I _respect_ Autumn’s methods!”

“Ahahaha! Honestly, after seeing her in action, I can understand _why_.”   
  
“<gasp>!”

Autumn found herself half flustered and half amused as she saw the cheerful Tesleen and increasingly embarrassed Alisaie talk amongst themselves. _It doesn’t look like she’s changed_ **_too_ ** _much since Ghimlyt_ , she thought to herself.

“Oh, and it looks like your other friend has returned too! What a day today has been!” exclaimed Tesleen.

Alisaie and Autumn spun around towards the entrance that they had passed through moments earlier. Standing in the entryway was a lone Au Ra woman, dressed in a predominately leather armor with a narrow greatsword visible on her back. Her skin shared a similar hue to the purple that her armor was dyed, but she was an otherwise unremarkable Raen. One that was no stranger to battle however, that much was obvious.

A muttered groan was the only reaction Alisaie gave towards the new arrival. Autumn looked back at the young twin as if to question her, but found the young girl turned away, trying her best to avoid eye contact. Autumn alternated her gaze between the Au Ra woman and Alisaie for a few moments, her face slowly contorting in confusion as time ticked by. “I’m... missing something here, aren’t I?” she guessed.

The Au Ra slightly cocked her head to the side, her face betraying no emotion.   
  
“You do not recognize me?” Her tone was flat, but Autumn could sense a slight prodding buried in her question.

“...Should I?”

The woman gave a light scoff in response. “Looks like you owe me a new greatsword, Alisaie!”

Alisaie gave off another muffled groan, which only added to Autumn’s confusion.

“What’s... going on here?”  
  
“Don’t you recognize her? It’s your friend, N-!” Tesleen’s innocent statement was cut off abruptly, as Alisaie darted towards her, swiftly covering the Hume’s mouth mid-sentence.

Autumn shot a look at Alisaie, but the young girl was resolute in her silence (and the forced silence of her friend). Patience quickly wore thin. “Okay, What in the seven hells is going on here?”

No one answered her (despite Tesleen’s best efforts), so Autumn proceeded to march over to right in front of where the Au Ra woman was standing to get a closer look at her. Shortening the distance between the two revealed a number of other features on the mystery woman: Her hair was a dark shade of brown, yet possessed streaks of white throughout. Similarly, her face was dotted with (what she assumed to be) freckles of the same shade of white all across. Conversely, her eyes shone with a deep orange, enclosed within bright yellow limbal rings. She noted a slight oddity with her horns and scales however: Given the coloration, she was certainly a Raen, but the color of said scales were an even purer shade of white than what she was accustomed to seeing. It was almost as if it was not simply _just_ white, but a total absence of all other colors _aside_ from white. Unnaturally so, by her reckoning.

Yet her list of familiar Raen Au Ra was a rather short one, and effectively non-existent on the First. _A friend of Alisaie? No... she clearly said ‘my’ friend, so I have to know her somewhere. Makes me think someone on par with Alisaie, no less. But none of the people that I know that were pulled to the First were Raen. Hells… only one of them was Au Ra to begin with…_

As Autumn stared the Au Ra woman down, she returned a blank expression all the while, seemingly nonplussed about the entire scene playing out. When it seemed like the Elezen in front of her was not arriving at any realizations any time soon, she finally spoke up: “Apologies if I don’t seem more surprised by all this, I _have_ changed rather significantly since last time. I take no offense… khagan.”

... _Khagan?_

The wheels began to turn in Autumn’s head in earnest. The word provided the necessary spark, and things finally began to fall in place: the woman’s face, her familiar tone and voice, even her choice in clothing. She took a step back to confirm her suspicions, yet felt only horror when she realized they may be true.

“W-wha… N- _Namryn_?”

The woman flashed a pitying smile in response.

“I… but… w-what…What happened to you?!”

Autumn’s tone bordered on panic as she spun around to Alisaie and Tesleen.

“W-what the hell happened to her?! W-why is she _purple_?!”

“Ha! You owe me a new set of armor now too!” yelled the woman towards Alisaie, to which the twin only responded with a haggard groan. A flustered Autumn could only manage to hurriedly look between the two women, feeling as though the scene before her was occurring entirely at her expense.

“Hey.”  
  
Autumn turned back to Namryn, who was beckoning the Elezen towards her with her finger. The two of them slowly proceeded outside of the Inn’s natural walls, leaving an exhausted Alisaie alone with a mildly confused Tesleen.

“Why didn’t you want me saying anything?”

Alisaie found herself too dejected to respond. As happy as she was to see Autumn once more, she long dreaded this day coming.

...Owing someone a full set of gear only compounded things.

\--

“You guys made bets on me?!”

“And I thank you for winning them for me.”  
  
“You made _bets_ on _me_!”   
  
“If it’s any consolation, it was Alisaie’s idea. She claimed to know you better than I did. All I did was contest that idea.”

The two adventurers stood some distance from the Inn, at the top of a dune overlooking the ruins of the abandoned city nearby. It had been months since Autumn had seen her friend from the Steppe, and roughly a year for the Au Ra herself since she last saw her friend, so the two began to take the opportunity to catch up on lost times.

“If it was up to me, I would have gone off to pursue Raradi. Yet, it took all that I had just to keep young Alisaie from tearing off the Exarch’s head upon our arrival here, and before I knew it I found myself following her here to Amh Araeng.”

“Did she run off somewhere? Raradi, I mean,” queried Autumn.

“...If only we knew. Despite coming over at the same time Alphinaud did, no one seems to know what exactly became of her; _I_ showed up alongside Alisaie, but our little bundle of joy was not so fortunate, and all attempts made by the Exarch to locate her have failed… for some reason unknown to us all.” Namryn admitted. “The only thing we know for certain is that she’s still alive _somewhere_ on the First, and does not appear to be anywhere that can be easily searched. Wouldn’t be surprised if we found her frolicking with the Fae, in all honesty.”

“What are the Fae like? All I’ve been told so far is basically to stay away from them for the moment.”

Namryn glanced at Autumn for a second, looking for the right words to say. 

“...Bothersome,” she settled on.

“Well…” Autumn sighed, “With any luck she’ll turn up eventually. She’s always been a bit of a survivor, so I can’t help but think she’s safe. It seems like I’ll be kept busy for the foreseeable future anyways, maybe I’ll stumble onto her as I have you.”

“While we’re on the topic of ‘keeping busy’, I notice you’re a little less… yellow than normal, and those certainly are odd weapons for a Monk.”

“You _really_ wanna go there? Don’t think I didn’t notice that giant sword on your back. Plus… well, I didn’t think you liked purple _that_ much.”

“...It wasn’t exactly up to me.” Namryn mumbled.

Autumn sensed a tinge of sadness in her words, so she elected to redirect the conversation back to herself for the moment: “Things… happened after you and Alisaie went over. To make a long story short, I hurt myself pretty seriously in the interim, and I’ve had to make some adjustments to compensate.”

“Are you okay now?”

“About as okay as things can get, I suppose.”

“...Likewise,” Namryn sighed.

An awkward silence hung between the two women. It was clear the two of them had encountered hardships since they forcibly parted ways, but Autumn could sense life had treated her friend far harsher than herself.

“Look, I know I don’t really have much room to ask about what happened to you, but-”

“No, it’s fine,” Namryn interjected. “Between the two of us, my changes are a lot more noticeable, after all. Potentially more severe too.”

“Y-yeah, I mean… I thought you were a _Raen_ for a second when I first saw you!” Autumn admitted. “Did your soul get messed up when it got pulled here or something? You looked just fine last I checked in on everyone in the Rising Stones.”

“...Has Alisaie told you anything about the Sin Eaters yet?” queried Namryn.

“A bit. Enough to get the general idea about them… and the knowledge to be careful when dealing with them. Are all those people in the Inn really just… doomed like that?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Geez…” Autumn shivered. “...W-wait, don’t tell me-!”

“ _Relax_ , I’m not in any danger myself. At least, none of us here _think_ I am. I’ve been like this for a handful of months now and there’s been no real developments or complications thus far,” Namryn noted.

“Alright… I would still like to know what happened exactly, or would that be too much to ask?”

“Well, honestly you might get a fuller understanding if you asked one of the Innkeepers here. I don’t have a full account of what happened; I was… ‘out of it’ for a good deal of time. And even then, unless one of your ‘Echo’ episodes happen, I don’t know if _they_ will be able to give a complete story either.”

Things quieted down between the two, so Namryn took the brief respite as a chance to gaze out onto the amber sands and contemplate her own thoughts. A moment that stretched on for a minute…

And then another....

And another… 

And _another_ …

“...Autumn?” Namryn whispered, as she turned towards her. She found that Autumn was looking straight at her, but it looked more akin to a vacant stare than anything else. There was no sign of activity behind her eyes, and her mouth hung open slightly.

“Hmph… and you always say that thing is more an _inconvenience_.”

~~

A whirlwind of lights and sounds violently swirled around her. The scene before her slowly came into focus: Autumn was standing in Amh Araeng, right next to the Aetheryte at the center of the Inn at Journey’s Head. A number of the Innkeepers were running in all directions while some of the patients present showed varied signs of agitation. Anxiety and tension seemed to hang thick in the air.

“What’s happening? What’s going on?”  
  
Alisaie’s voice could be heard piercing through the noise and confusion. Autumn followed the source to one of the walls, where she found the young elezen standing next to Tesleen and Namryn under a canopy.

“This is what I mentioned before; what happens when a more powerful Sin Eater comes into the area,” Tesleen explained. “We need to get out there and keep them from making it in here, otherwise we might lose everyone!”

“Do we know what this Sin Eater looks like?” asked Namryn.

“No, but likely something very big! If we can manage to take it down, the rest of the Eaters will become scattered and confused, and we can pick off any of the more aggressive stragglers!”

For someone in the midst of a crisis, Tesleen was remarkably optimistic.

The scene suddenly transitioned to a space out in the desert, some distance away from the Inn itself. The amber sands had become an impromptu battlefield as a mixture of the Innkeepers, Crystarium soldiers, and denizens of the nearby Mord Souq were doing their best in dispatching a literal swarm of predominantly arial Sin Eaters. It was to Autumn as if a platoon of soldiers were trying to pick off a large flock of birds, though these ‘birds’ were of a far deadlier variety.

Amongst the noises of steel and claw clashing one another, the bright flashes of red magic illuminated throughout the area. Alisaie and Namryn could be seen quickly dashing to and fro, the former making quick work of her prey through surgically precise lunges and ripostes while the latter moved as if she was dancing across the battlefield, casting spells with one step and dispatching foes with her rapier on the next. Though the Sin Eaters’ numbers looked overwhelming at first, it seemed as though the presence of the two mages gave the sense that the battle was well under control.

Mayhap they began to sense this as well. After slaying a particularly large Sin Eater, Alisaie turned towards Namryn to flash a big thumbs up, prideful of her latest conquest. At first, Namryn responded to the girl with a confident smile of her own. However, her face quickly shifted to an expression of pure terror, and as Autumn turned back towards Alisaie, she understood why.

What resembled a large Kuribu statue silently floated just behind Alisaie, its right arm pulled back as it aimed the tip of its sword straight at the unsuspecting girl.

“Oh gods… _Alisaie!_ ” Autumn shouted on reflex.

Suddenly, she felt a sudden gust of wind strike her from behind. Autumn had no time to look back before she witnessed a violet blur shoot past her, traveling at blinding speed towards Alisaie and her would-be killer.

Namryn’s speed would prove Alisaie’s savior this day, as she arrived at the girl’s side and quickly shoved her to the ground… before the sound of steel piercing flesh rang out into the air. The Eater had run its blade completely through Namryn’s chest; the tip of the bloodied sword sticking out from her backside. 

Whether she was merely putting on a brave face, or had a strong tolerance of pain, Namryn issued out only a small, pained gasp before she struggled to bring her sword’s focus to the end of her blade’s hilt. A snap of interlocking metal rang out and the focus shined brightly, before a sudden surge of lightning shot out in the Eater’s direction. The spell found its mark, as the spell shot clean through the creature, causing it to lurch backwards before dissipating in a cloud of light aether.

The blade suddenly freed from her chest, Namryn slumped down to her knees with the sounds of labored breathing filling the air. She looked upward to the blinding sky above for one moment, then began to convulse on the next, coughing up a white substance as she howled out in pain.

“ _NAMRYN_!”

Alisaie shot to Namryn’s side, attempting to steady her as she writhed in agony.

“Alisaie, get back from her! She’ll change at any moment now, you only risk yourself!” Tesleen shouted, running closer to them as the lesser Sin Eaters began to thin out.

“No! I’m not leaving her!” Alisaie adamantly replied as she attempted to heal Namryn with magic. Yet the spells seemed to have no effect on her; Namryn’s screams only seemed to grow in intensity as light seemed to flow out from her mouth, her eyes, and her chest wound.

_Oh gods, this can’t be happening!_ Autumn thought. _Wait… she’s still here! She has to pull through this! So then-?_ _  
_ _  
_ “Out of the way, girl.”

“Wha- _gah!_ ”

Autumn had broken sight from the scene for only a scant moment, but it was enough to miss the sudden development. She saw Alisaie on the ground once more, as if she had been shoved away. In her place…  
  
“W-what?! _Fray?!_ ”

Standing over the Au Ra woman was a fully-armored knight dressed in a predominately black paludroncoat, with the outline of the greatsword Deathbringer clearly visible on their back. To any of the bystanders surrounding them, the person was an unrecognizable knight that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. However, it was a person that was unmistakable to the Elezen: The Dark Knight Fray.

_How?! That should be impossible, I thought Fray was… But she’s never met-… I don’t understand!_

“Of all the times to finally get the chance to speak to you… to finally be heard...” whispered ‘Fray’. “After all this time… _she’s_ still alive. Just in time to get us both killed, huh?”

It was hard to tell if Namryn was even listening at this point. The pain had seemingly dulled her senses to the point where she listlessly gazed up into the sky and could make no noises outside of mindless groans and gurgles. Her body still looked as though it was locked in pain however.

“Well,” the knight continued, “You can’t have her, _beast_. She is _mine_.”

‘Fray’ kneeled down and propped up the lifeless woman into her arms, as if they were a mother cradling a child. The knight’s eyes began to shine a bright orange, yet Autumn sensed not hostility behind them, but… a profound sadness... Pity, even?

“We get one chance at this, so listen closely. Listen to my heartbeat… to _our_ heartbeat.”   
  
As they said this, a faint black mist began to emit from the knight. It started out faintly at first, but seemed to build more and more, flowing out in rhythm with the breathing of the two. What seemed more curious to Autumn, however, was that she noticed that the two were beginning to change as the mist built up: the armor that ‘Fray’ wore seemed to begin to dissolve away, while Namryn’s skin began to change as well; a purple hue beginning to trickle into her skin as the light began to bleed into the horns on her head.

Through the black mist, Autumn noticed that Fray’s helmet began to fade away… and could see a mirror copy of Namryn’s face just behind it, staring longingly into the eyes of the woman in front of her.

“She’s still alive, Namryn, so please... do us both a favor… _live_.”

As if waiting until her final words were spoken, an enormous pillar of light suddenly shot up from where the two had been sitting. A loud, ear-piercing ring soon followed, forcing everyone, including Autumn, down to their knees in pain. There was no telling just how long the pillar lasted, only that it eventually did end. As soon as she could pick herself, Autumn sprinted over to where the two had been before.

In the center of the small crater that had formed, there laid only a single woman: Namryn. Her skin had fully transformed into a violet shade, and her scales and horns shone in a brilliant white… but it was her....

\--

“A-ah… ahhh…”

“Welcome back.”

Autumn found herself back on the dune alongside Namryn, the latter of who was gazing up at the former in their characteristic nonchalance. 

“So? Any luck? Things all figured out?” Namryn added.

“W-wha… No! This only raises _further_ questions!” blurted Autumn. “Why was Fray there?!”

“...Fray?” Namryn responded, raising an eyebrow.

“T-the knight that… I don’t even really get _what_ they did! They held you up, and there was this black smoke, and then... _fwoom_!”

“...Fray.”

“U-uh…” Autumn shied away. “They were the uhh… ‘mentor’ that I had when I first discovered the techniques of a Dark Knight. But… they’re _gone_! They shouldn’t be out and about, especially not without _me_ anywhere nearby!”

“...Wait, isn’t that that ‘darkside person’ you always warned me about potentially popping up? That one armored knight that almost slaughtered that one Ishgardian fort?”

Autumn had no real response ready; She had hoped to avoid _this_ conversation as much as possible, and now she had face-planted straight into it. Her silence proved enough of a confirmation for Namryn.

“You know… I never once really got to… ‘converse’ with my darkside like you always warned me about.”

Autumn flinched at the statement in shock. “Wait, what? _Seriously_? But, you took to their techniques so readily! What took me ages--and arguably two mental breakdowns--you mastered in a matter of weeks! ...All without incident, no less.”

Namryn smirked in response. “ _Maybe_ you’re not as bad a teacher as you keep whinging about.” She crossed her arms as she contemplated her experiences. “Besides, I always attributed things more to just having more to ‘work with’, if you understand what I mean.”

“Fair enough. I know what I saw though… though they seemed to have _your_ face right before they… _fwoomed_.”

“You’d know more than I would. That being said, that might explain… something.”  
  
“Hmm?”

“Ever since that day… I started to notice this… _emptiness_ in myself. At first I feared maybe it was the Sin Eater light doing something within me, but again, things haven’t really gotten worse, so I discounted it after awhile.”

“What kind of emptiness? You feel like… hollow or something?”

“I… really don’t know,” Namryn shrugged. “I mean, not like _that_ I suppose, more in the way that… there always used to be some sort of extra presence in the past. Like another person or someone standing just out of view. Now I feel… alone?”

“...Maybe _it’s_ gone?”

“If _it_ is, then I’m a better Dark Knight than I realize. If anything, my connection to my darkside seems… _more_ powerful than before. Convenient, since I’ve basically lost my ability to cast red magic.”

“... _Reliably_ , anywho,” she added.

“I guess that leads into my next question: The vision ended with you in a crater out in the dunes… I assume they didn’t just… you know… _leave_ you out there?”

Namryn gazed up into the sky, her arms crossed anew. “They took me back to the Inn, though only because Alisaie was _most_ adamant about not abandoning me out there. Spent three days tucked away in a bed before finally coming to. Found out Alisaie never left my side all that time. Hells, when I first woke up, I found her sleeping on the side of my bed, still dressed in the same clothes that she had worn that damnable day.”   
  
The scene of Alisaie with her back to the massive Sin Eater suddenly flashed again in Autumn’s mind. “Oh... _that’s_ why.”

Namryn looked over to Autumn in acknowledgement of her realization. “As much as she has missed you, she has long dreaded this day coming. She still very much blames herself for what happened that day, and she has long since concluded that you’d hate her for it. It’s honestly why I’ve tried to make myself sparse around her as of late; whenever she looks at me, I can’t help but notice this twinge of guilt on her face. Stopped taking patrols or running errands with her because I felt like just _being there_ was torturing her.”

“Oh Alisaie...” Autumn sighed.

“...You’re not angry?” queried Namryn.

Autumn merely shrugged. “I mean, I understand things happen, and it’s not like punishing her would accomplish anything productive. I’d be upset only if she _wasn’t_ guilty over it… or worse. Besides, you’re still here, and not actively dying as far as anyone can tell. That’s all that really matters to me in the end.”

“Hmph… she’s really lucky to have you,” Namryn whispered.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. We should probably get back soon. I’m starving.”

With that, Namryn turned away and began heading back towards the Inn.

“H-Hey, wait for me!”

~~  
  


The only other known case of a survivor occurred several months prior to my arrival on Norvrandt, involving a female Xaela Au Ra by the name of Namryn Kahkol; a close friend of mine on the Source whose soul was “summoned” alongside Alisaie Leveilleur in the last of the Exarch’s failed attempts to summon me to the First. However, I must stress the word “survivor” in her case, as opposed to being cured, as it is believed that the Light/Umbral-aspected aether inflicted upon her is still very much present within them.

The only records of the incident in question came from eye-witness reports from a small group of people at the scene of the fight, Alisaie included. During a pitched battle with a swarm of lesser Sin Eaters, the creature “leading” the pack managed to ambush one of the people fighting that day. Namryn apparently dove between the Eater and the person before the latter could be harmed and was consequently impaled by a blade the creature bore. Though the Eater was subsequently killed, the “Light” had already been implanted within Namryn, and the transformation process began almost immediately.

What occurred next was something that, outside of the Echo vision that I experienced, I can only really speculate what exactly happened: A knight (that was up to this point unaccounted for) appeared on the battlefield and made their way towards Namryn. The knight was described by onlookers as a person of below average stature, suited in a black and blue paludroncoat, and wielding a single, large, black greatsword. Identification of the knight was impossible, as they wore a helmet that completely covered their face; the only visible part of them were their eyes, described by one innkeeper as “oranger than the amber hills themselves”.

Alisaie was attempting to perform first aid on Namryn when the mystery knight made it to the pair, and proceeded to shove Alisaie to the side. The knight then kneeled down and began to cradle Namryn in her arms, almost as if they were embracing a small child. A black smoke began to emit from the knight and quickly enveloped the two before a massive (and loud) beam of light shot up from their position. When the light finally dissipated, only Namryn remained where the two had been before, however her physical appearance had changed markedly; her skin had changed from a light peach coloring to a faded violet, and her blue horns had become snow white (comparable to Raen Au Ra).

Namryn was then taken back to the Inn at Journey’s Head (in the event that she still transformed into a Sin Eater) and was placed onto one of the present beds, where she laid for approximately 3 days before eventually regaining consciousness. A thorough examination was performed on her shortly after, with the (summarized) listed results:  
  
-Physical: No major deviations from traditional female Draph* (*Au Ra of the First) physiology. Aside from the aforementioned changes in coloration, several other changes in color were noted, including a shift in iris color from a hazel blue to orange, a darkening of her hair pigmentation (with some strands of pure white hair present), and a shift of the facial freckles from dark brown to pure white. Limbal rings retained their original color (yellow). Beyond this, some white lines (resembling cracks) were noted extending off of the scaled portions of her skin, but exhibited no noticeable deviation in texture from the neighboring skin.

-Mental: No major change noted in demeanor or attitude. Patient experienced no long-term memory loss, and only failed to recall the moments starting from shortly after death of the assaulting Sin Eater (and onset of Sin Eater transformation) up until she regained consciousness.

-Aetherical: Ability to cast spells was greatly compromised. All variations of offensive spell casts exhibited significant aspects of one specific element: Light(/Umbral). For example, the Red Mage spell Veraero now was heavily aspected towards Light as opposed to the element Wind. Spells with aspects associated with “black magic” (ex. Verthunder) were unable to be cast at all. Noticable reduced capacity of healing spells was also noted.

By the time I had arrived in Norvrandt, Namryn had already adapted to the changes within her body by practicing and honing her skills as a Dark Knight (as opposed to her forte as a Red Mage). I personally noted a slight shift in her demeanor, but such changes I attributed more to surviving a brush with death as opposed to whatever actually happened to her. Concerning her change in combat roles, Namryn noted that her capacity to access her “Darkside” (see notes on Dark Knight techniques) had been enhanced since surviving her encounter with the Sin Eaters, but also noted a strange “emptiness” within her at times when she did. Unfortunately however, she was unable to explain any further what exactly she meant by that statement.

Based on a number of factors, including the eye-witness accounts, conversations with Namryn after the fact, the notes from her physical, and my own personal experiences, my current theory on how she survived revolves around her training as a Dark Knight, as well as her possession of a Dark Knight soul crystal. My belief is that the “shadowy knight” that appeared on the day of the incident was a manifestation of Namryn’s darkside, and it is possible that that Darkside somehow mitigated the excess Light/Umbral aether within her to some degree, at least enough to prevent the transformation into a Sin Eater.

Testing this theory, however, would prove to be far easier said than done. The crux of this theory revolves in part around the presence of other Dark Knights on the First, which, based on the same records mentioned earlier, are largely absent from the world. Some adventurers and bounty hunters have been seen wielding greatswords, but none have shown any innate capacity of utilizing any known Dark Knight techniques. While it may be possible that Dark Knights once existed in the First, it is also possible, based on the lack of evidence of their presence, that the Flood of Light killed off any known practitioners of the art, and locating any surviving soul crystals on the First is also a task much easier said than done.

However, it bears noting again that this is less a “cure” and more an adaptation(?). The change in Namryn’s capacity of spell casting suggests that the Light/Umbral aether is still present inside her body, and is (theoretically) kept in check by either an equally abundant amount of Dark/Astral aether, or an equally antagonistic energy that otherwise keeps the Light aether in check. I can only assume that her difficulties in casting the traditional versions of spells like Veraero is a product of those two aforementioned elements “drowning out” the remaining 6, moreso the Light aether.

Furthermore, it is currently unknown if this balance within Namryn can be considered a new aetherical equilibrium or merely a delaying of the inevitable. It is possible that the Light aether is still in the process of corrupting Namryn’s body, or that the infusion of Dark aether may fade with time. There is also the possibility that the two will eventually dissipate to less prevalent levels as the body attempts to re-establish the original equilibrium. Further observation is required.

Regardless, I would not recommend this process either as a means of treating those afflicted with the Sin Eater aether. 

The only consolation I can take in the matter is that with the extinction of the Lightwardens, the aetheric equilibrium on the First no longer tilts as heavily in the Light/Umbral direction. This previous equilibrium was believed to contribute greatly to the eventual transformation of an afflicted person into a Sin Eater, and the shift towards a more balanced environment will, at the very least, extend the lifespans of the afflicted.

With any luck, they will have been extended long enough to find a more viable solution.

~~

  
  
_...I wonder when it happened._

_When I left the Steppe that day, I closed myself off from the world. My parents were dead. My friends were dead. My family… was dead._

_I vowed never again. I would live… I would fight… I would become strong… and I would make sure life would never be able to take anything from me ever again._

_But then, I ran into her. That… ever-so-bothersome Lalafell. I wanted her to leave me alone, to go away and never bother me ever again. I don’t know what kept driving her back to me time and time again, despite my best efforts. I only relented just to get her to shut the hell up._

_But because of that… I met you._

_That first day, you apologized profusely for what your retainer had done. You… could tell right away how I felt, somehow. You backed her off, gave me my space. But you left the door open. “If you need any help, just let me know.”_

_Even when you got chased away to Coerthas, you never stopped caring about either of us. You snuck into Ul’Dah to check in on us on countless occasions. Made sure we were safe. When you were let into Ishgard, you petitioned for us to be allowed in as well._

_When you had to travel to the Far East, you never once demanded that I come. You never tried to guilt me into going. You knew how much my homeland had hurt me. All you did was ask if I wanted to come with you, fully expecting me to refuse. I_ **_still_ ** _don’t really know what drove me to say ‘Yes’. Despite all the pain… something about your presence made me... forget for a moment._

_I remember the terror I felt when I heard you had been captured by one of the tribes. Partly by the one responsible for my family’s slaughter. I remember the feeling of my blood boiling when I finally got the chance to exact my revenge; the day you became Khagan of the Steppe. I remember standing atop the Dawn Throne afterwards… feeling so empty. I finally had gotten a taste of what I had longed for for years… and found it wanting. I didn’t know how to proceed. I was lost._

_You offered me a direction that night. “Fight for others. Protect those you care for.” I laughed at the idea at first. I didn’t care for anyone, not even you. Never again._

_...I think part of that still got through to me though. That voyage home… I felt like I had closure for the first time in my life over my bloody past. ‘The Daughter of Night’ died that night, and Namryn of the Kahkol tribe could finally be put to rest along with the rest of her dead family. I was just Namryn now. I was just your ally now._

_I remember how your heart broke when you found out Raradi had collapsed. I remember… how_ **_my_ ** _heart sank when I saw her suddenly just… drop. I didn’t know what to make of it at first. I felt as I normally did… yet at the same time,_ **_something_ ** _was different._

_Not that I had much time to think about it before I joined her on the First. After that point, I didn’t have much time to really think about anything._

_..._

_I still remember seeing her… her prideful grin… and that monster looming just behind her._

_If it had been any point before that… I probably would have let her die._

_“She deserved it.”_

_“She got cocky.”_

_“She brought it upon herself.”_

_That’s what I would have thought before._

_But I didn’t that time. I didn’t even think. I just went._

_Before, I would have only cared about myself. Yet here I was, nearly dying just to save someone else._

_And so… I wonder… when exactly did it happen?_

_...When did I finally start to care again?_

END.


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